Healdsburg overlooked years of potential park funding from new developments

Healdsburg has for years failed to collect the larger of two development fees designated for creation of new parks and maintenance of existing public open spaces - an oversight the city is trying to address with updated rules for residential builders moving forward.

It is unclear how many housing projects may have avoided either dedicating park space or paying an in-lieu fee over that time. The sum of the foregone fees remains unknown, though it could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

The error was discovered in mid-2017 by the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission during a review of its deferred maintenance backlog, which is conservatively estimated at ?$12 million.

The fee lapse represented “a missed opportunity,” said Mark Themig, director of the city’s Community Services Department, which manages parks and recreation areas.

“I think it’s important that every city look at how it funds its park system,” Themig said. “It’s a well-balanced system overall. We will try our best in the future not to miss any of these opportunities. It’s important that we pay attention to this as we move forward.”

Under the state’s Quimby Act of 1975, the city can collect park payments by developers to provide new neighborhoods with adequate outdoor spaces, with a target rate of up to ?5 acres per 1,000 residents. When that threshold is met, the money may be spent on upgrades at existing parks or recreation areas.

The fees are separate from park impact fees, which go toward improvements across the network of city parks. Officials said they were confident those smaller payments were collected on each of the residential developments during the same time frame. On Friday, however, they could not provide a dollar figure for those collected fees.

“I don’t want to characterize it as the city left money on the table,” Healdsburg City Manager David Mickaelian said, pointing to the park impact fees.

Mickaelian oversaw the parks division before becoming assistant city manager in 2009, and the top administrator in 2014. He could not provide a full accounting of the projects that may have avoided the Quimby Act fee. The Planning Department handles such fee collection, Mickaelian said, but he acknowledged that as city manager, final responsibility for the oversight rests with him.

The city is overhauling its development approval process to ensure a system of checks exist for fee collection, he said. City staff has recommended the City Council approve updated rules governing fee collection at its Monday meeting.

“We don’t want people to think folks are getting off scot-free,” Mickaelian said. “The buck stops at the city manager, regardless.”

Among the housing projects the city knows were not charged Quimby fees are the 28-home Chiquita Grove subdivision, approved in 2012 at the intersection of Grove Street and Chiquita Road, and the 2017 Farmstand subdivision at Grove Street and Farm Stand Road.

Quimby fees were collected on forthcoming developments including The Oaks at Foss Creek, which will have 29 single-?family homes, and the five-unit River House development. Instead of the fee, small parks were dedicated in developments that include the 37-unit Sonata and 34 single-family home Sorrento Square subdivisions, approved in 2010 and 2014, respectively.

City officials weren’t able to say whether those small public spaces satisfied what the state allows to ensure new neighborhoods have sufficient parkland through the Quimby Act.

Healdsburg residents have been vocal about the need for improvements in infrastructure, including parks, to serve the community.

“This gets at the heart of what’s going on in Healdsburg, with people using the term ‘the unraveling social fabric,’ where there’s a belief the city only cares about tourist-focused attractions versus what residents really need,” said resident Ariel Kelley, who previously served on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission. “People don’t feel like they have a place or space for residents, or can take ownership of a public open space that works.

Healdsburg is home to about 12,000 people and has about ?50 acres of parks, putting the city above the per capita ratio called for under the Quimby Act, according to a city-commissioned review.

Themig, who has served as parks director for three years, also noted that nearly 400 acres of parkland rims the city’s outskirts, including 173 acres at Fitch Mountain Park and ?155 acres at the Healdsburg Ridge Open Space. A 36-acre park has been dedicated as part of the planned Montage Healdsburg luxury resort and residential development.

The majority of the city’s hotel taxes also go toward park maintenance, Themig said. Still, to get a handle on the multimillion dollar maintenance backlog and future park needs, the city has hired a consultant to complete a comprehensive review, due this summer.

“The city has maintained its obligation, and there are certainly areas where we can do better,” said Themig. “This is a good thing, and gives the council good information to make good decisions long term. There will have to be prioritization, where you focus the revenue you have available.”

The City Council meets Monday at 6 p.m. at Healdsburg City Hall for a public hearing on its Quimby fees update, among other agenda items.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.